Unwritten ::In:: Your Arms
by Anyxia
Summary: Sango and Miroku have seperated from the rest of the group to go on a scouting mission. They run into a stranger and must decide whether he works for Naraku or not. The stranger creates an interesting mix, who will Sango be drawn to more?
1. Chapter 1

The waning crescent surprisingly illuminated the ground and lit up the night sky as it gently rose to grace the stars with its presence. Beneath the probing beams of silver moonlight, a young woman lay silently on the ground in a thickly sheltered forest. Her eyes lined with pink stared towards the heavens and caught tiny glimpses of the evening sky through the places where the branches and leaves were fewer in number.

Sitting just as quietly next to her was a young man robed in cloths, their hues violet and black. He was hunched forward and had his eyelids closed over his cool midnight blue irises, his breathing was calm and deep as he tried to sleep in such an uncomfortable position. His golden staff leaned against his shoulder as a swordsman would have his blade if he were sitting on guard. The woman beside him turned her features to glimpse his face a moment, but she could only see a side profile of his mouth chin and nose.

Her long chestnut brown hair was spread out behind her; she had removed the cloth that usually held the tendrils together at their ends. For her, tonight would supply little sleep, she was a little uneasy being so near…and alone with the Houshi-sama, for reasons she had a difficult time explaining, even to her. Of course, she had perfect reason what with all the groping he had provided her with. Even Kirara was nowhere to be seen, InuYasha and the others needed the neko youkai a bit more, so the girl tossed and turned and finally inched her way slowly away from the monk sitting beside her.

Earlier that day, when the two had scouted this area out, they found a nice stream that trickled into a deep pond whose warm misty waters acted almost as a hot spring, if only the water was a bit warmer. Sango decided she needed to relax and take her mind off the situation and thought it safe to leave while Houshi-sama was asleep. She left her armor and such where she had been laying down and walked through the dark woods until the tinkling sounds of water grew louder.

Her eyes adjusted after some time and she could easily follow the hoary trail of the stream that slivers of moonlight lit up for her. Finally the trees made a clearing for the pond, the mist and steam swirling around it made the place look unnatural and ghost-like. The demon exterminator took no note of this though as she knelt down and ran her left hand over the glassy surface and watched it ripple beneath her fingertips. It was much warmer than when she and Miroku had tested it earlier. Thankful for this she started to remove her clothes, undoing the sash that held her robes together and pulling the fabrics away from her skin until they lay in a pile by her feet. Slowly, Sango stepped towards the pond, the soft soil felt like loose clay between her toes and she let her feet sink into the earth as she lowered her body into the waters.

She felt a tingling sensation once her body was submerged up to her shoulders, especially across her back where the scar of her brother's memory was. The girl reached her hand back and placed the tips of her fingers on the scar and traced it as best she could, pressing hard enough so the pricks weren't so bad, it felt as though her whole body had been numb and was just now waking up, was it the water doing this? But just as suddenly as the feeling had started, it disappeared leaving her to relax and bask in the warmth of the pond, mist, and steam swirling around her.

There was an aroma that she noticed now that hadn't been so evident before, it was something she hadn't really smelled before. She noticed ginger, but there was something else that she didn't quite recognize, today we would know it as vanilla, but then it was a foreign spice to the Japanese of the feudal days. The scents were so soothing to her senses that they made her a bit drowsy…

"Hello, is there anyone there?" a voice from Sango's left called. Startled, she immediately brushed off the drowsiness and answered.

"Who's there?" there was hostility in her voice, but she had no weapons to defend herself.

"Be at peace young maiden, I am just passing through, I noticed the hot spring and was about to take a dip myself when I sensed the presence of another. I am sorry if I have disturbed you," the voice apologized, and the girl noticed it to be the voice of a young man, but he wasn't Miroku.

"What's your name?" she asked curiously.

"I am Hiroyui Oyama of the Hiroyui clan, my friends call me Hiro, and you are?"

"My name is Sango," she responded, "Hey, Hiro, are you carrying ginger with you?"

"Yes, ginger and vanilla, their scents are soothing to me so I take them out at night when I find it difficult to sleep,"

"Please, step into the light so I can see you,"

"Are you certain, honestly, I am just passing through,"

"Well, we've had a long enough conversation that I'd like to see who I'm speaking with, don't worry, my body is under the water, you can't see anything, plus the steam is very thick,"

"As you wish, Sango," her heart skipped a beat, the way he said her name was so intoxicating, it was strange, she wanted to hear it again. She then heard rummaging in the brush to the left where the voice had its origins and as she gazed up, the figure arose, he was tall and when the pale moonlight struck his face she could tell he was handsome.

"You look like a warrior," she stated.

"A good observation," he smiled as he spotted the young girl looking up at him from the misty water. The man had on battle attire, his armor was strange though it looked more European than Asian, but the man before her was Japanese. The sword at his waist though was the most Asian thing on him, the katana's sheath was handmade and had some of the most intricate designs she had ever seen before.

"By your look, you must be a very high ranking officer in someone's army,"

"Why is it that such a beautiful girl as yourself would know so much about the wars?"

"We are in the warring times after all, is it bad that I am more involved?"

"You must be a princess then, of an emperor? What region do you hail from?"

"I am not a princess," she chuckled softly, "I'm a taijiya,"

"A demon exterminator, impressive, I know where you come from. You're just outside the Musashi domain, I heard that your village was attacked and left no survivors," his face grew a look of concern.

"You have good sources, we were set up in a trap, a demon named Naraku wanted the Shikon jewel shards from the village and destroyed us. He led all the exterminator's away from the village by hiring another demon for us to hunt down while he sent his army of smaller demons to attack the village. I am one of the last exterminator's left and I vowed my revenge so I am traveling with my friends who also have grudges against Naraku, when we find him, and catch him, we hope to beat him together,"

"I am sorry for your loss, it's not much, but I know of this Naraku you speak of, he is no demon, but a prince with very high authority, he is slowly gaining control over all of Japan, his army is very powerful, it's surprising that you haven't heard more of him, he's not so undercover. I heard news from my general that he was in Kyoto just days ago, you should probably start looking for him there,"

"Kyoto, really?" she was shocked and her eyes hardened on the stranger, could this be a trap itself? I should wake up my friend, he'll want to hear this.

"You are traveling with another?"

"Yes, and he'll want to know this information now, and he'll know better the questions he should ask you,"

"No, need Sango, I am here," the monk stepped forth from the brush behind her, he kept a calm yet stern façade and his eyes never left the stranger, "I am Miroku, and you are?"

"My name is Hiroyui Oyama, you may call me Hiro," he replied as friendly as he could.

"Hiro_yui_ is fine, what's this I hear about Naraku?"

"He says that Naraku is in Kyoto, I don't know if we should trust him, what if this is a trap, Naraku was just in this area yesterday, how can he travel so quickly if he's taking on the guise of a human prince?"

"We will soon find out," Miroku reached in his robes and pulled out three Kama sutra's, rice papers with holy incantations on them, "Friend, if you will not struggle, then this does not have to end badly,"

"You ask me not to struggle when you make the first move to attack?" Hiro felt offended, especially with his very high rank in his army. His hand reached for his blade, but he did not draw.

"I will oblige for now because I refuse to kill a man in front of a woman, even if you are a taijiya Sango," he bowed and stood still, waiting for them to do whatever they had in mind.

"Sango, I'll leave my robe here for you so you may dry off and put your clothes back on," he started to remove the black outer layer of cloth.

"No need Miroku, I have towels with me, they would absorb more than your cloth and probably feel better against her body," Hiro started to reach behind him for his horse.

"Don't move or I will bind you in a spell," Miroku threatened.

"Please, if you don't believe me walk over here and get them yourself,"

"Miroku stop it, he won't move Hiro, but I will," and with that, Sango arose out of the misty waters, the water glistening on her skin in the moonlight, dripping off her frame slowly and sensually. Both men's eyes widened as they looked her up and down.

"Please Hiro, the towels?"

"O-of course!" he averted his eyes, ashamed at having looked at her for so long, "I'm sorry Sango, I should not have looked, I let my imagination get the better of me, here," he handed her two towels, one was larger than the other and that's the one she took, she noticed the emblem on it was from an emperor on the western coast of Japan, Hiro had traveled a long way, either through the mountains or around the whole coast of Japan. The towel was soft and warm and as he mentioned it felt wonderful against her skin, he must be a great man if he is awarded with so many great things from such powerful people.


	2. Chapter 2

Wrapping the towel around her body, the taijiya felt her cheeks flush at having pulled something like that. What had she been thinking? Her head felt light and she eyes grew heavy as she inhaled those delicious scents Hiro was carrying with him. They were strong now that she was so near him. The girl looked over her shoulder at the warrior's steed; it was a handsome horse, all black with a white star stretched down its nose. She smiled and placed a hand between its eyes and brushed down, his coat was unusually soft for a horse that goes to battle.

"His name is Kokoro" Hiro said softly with a smile as he watched Sango pet the horse.

Miroku cleared his throat; his expression showed he was not impressed. "So, Hiroyui, what business have you here? Why travel so late at night, why not make camp somewhere…away from here?"

"I couldn't sleep, I'm not so good at setting up camp on my own so I decided to travel through the night, I know of a village around these parts, I was hoping to run into it and stay at an inn there," the man replied courteously. Sango turned to look at him and glanced quickly at Miroku.

"Miroku, I don't think he seems like an enemy, you don't work for Naraku, right Hiro?"

"No, I've never even spoken with him, but my father has met him. He didn't say much, only that he seemed like an upstanding man, very cold and firm though." Hiro shrugged as though they were talking about the weather, which gave Sango peace of mind. If he was clueless about the real demon that Naraku was then he must not be that bad.

"Maybe you can camp out with us," the taijiya suggested, "we've already set up camp…kind of, but with how dangerous things are in these times, the more the better, right?" she smiled at Hiro and he returned the grin and accepted.

Miroku stood dumbfounded unable to even refuse, what was she thinking letting a complete stranger spend the night with them in the woods? Miroku hadn't even made one pass at Sango that night, so he just couldn't understand what was going through her mind.

"Here, it's this way," the girl walked around the edge of the pool, grabbed her garments, and led the way past Miroku towards the spot they had been resting. Hiro was right on Sango's heels as he and his horse trotted past the wordless monk. Miroku noticed a smug smile from Hiroyui as he passed him. Knowing he could only argue this with Sango for so long before admitting defeat, he lowered his head and admitted it now and followed to two slowly back to the resting spot.

The forest was so quiet, the sound of three people and a horse walking around seemed louder than it should have and Sango was constantly looking back to make sure it was them three and _only_ them three. She felt a surge of relief when she spotted her armor in the same place she left it, and her bag of belongings right next to it. Miroku only carried his staff so the spot he had been occupying was vacant.

Once the three of them had settled down and the taijiya had put her robes back on, Sango and Hiro got a fire going, although they both agreed they should be sleeping about now, they wanted to learn more about each other. A conversation between the two started almost as instantly as the sparks from the flint Hiro had started the fire. Miroku was suddenly feeling like the third wheel.

The monk sat and listened to the conversation, but soon grew bored as he heard Sango retell her stories and was not impressed with the warrior's stories of bravery and battle. When he suggested that someone scout the area again just to be sure there was no danger within a mile radius, both Sango and Hiro thanked Miroku for offering and waited for him to do it.

The monk laughed, "I'm sorry, I thought the warrior with so much more experience than I would like to be the one to protect the maiden," the sarcasm dripped off his last words like venom. Both the taijiya and Hiro were taken aback by this, but the monk rose and left without any more fuss.

"What's wrong with your friend?" Hiro's brow furrowed as his eyes followed the houshi.

"Hm, serves him right. He's just jealous that I'm talking to you."

"Oh, are you two involved?" he asked feeling as though he should back off now that this information had surfaced.

Sango blushed, but her voice was harsh, "Of course not! He's a lecherous slime! He's lucky I even decided to travel alone with him!"

The young man felt a flicker of anger at her words, of course he could partially understand the monk's desire for her as the taijiya was beautiful, but a monk of all people should know better than to do or say whatever he did or said to Sango to make her call him such names. Houshi's were supposed to be chaste and respected, and yet here was a young girl disrespecting someone of such holy status. The warrior then stood and began off in the direction Miroku had left.

Sango stood as well and called after him, "Hiro, where are you going?" she quickly caught up and grabbed one of his wrists.

Her touch was firm, but her hands were soft, he froze under her grasp, but regained his composure and said, "I will teach your monk friend a lesson in respect if he has been lecherous to you in any way Sango," there it was again.

The way he said her name was like listening to the chime of a beautiful bell. It was enchanting and melodic. Her cheeks filled with a rosy color again and she half smiled at him. "Hiro, it's okay, I've dealt with him thousands of times. One day he'll learn, but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

He peered down at her and gazed deep into her chestnut brown eyes, her porcelain skin glowed in the moonlight, the slant of her eyes was so slight and endearing, her tendrils were still wet and they snaked around her skin. Something about the way she stood there, holding her own, her confidence, was so sexy. Hiro then felt himself leaning forward, a movement he couldn't control, instinct drove him to do it, and his lips found hers. They were delicate and supple; he tasted her and let his tongue glide over the surface of her bottom lip. He heard her gasp, but she did not struggle.

Sango's head was spinning, she had not been expecting him to kiss her, but when he did, she found herself unable to pull away. Besides he was just as handsome as the houshi, but he was so much more courteous than the monk, which for some reason didn't attract her more, but made her pay more attention to him. She knew she liked Miroku, she knew she had deep feelings for the monk, but this surprise encounter, this mystery, it turned her on. Maybe she was setting herself up for a trap, but right now she was liking the trap.

Hiro reached his arm around the demon exterminator so that he could pull her closer to himself by her waist, and with his other hand placed it delicately on her neck, gently tracing her jaw line with his thumb.

Almost as soon as Sango let herself relax with this beautiful stranger she pulled away. Surprised she even let herself do something so naïve. She placed her hand over her mouth looking to the ground for a second before looking up at the warrior with a shocked expression.

"I'm so sorry," she started to explain, "it's just…I don't even know you, you seem very nice and all, but," he raised his hand in front of her to prevent her from saying more. With a smile he replied,

"There's no need, dear Sango, I understand. I am truly apologetic; it was rude of me to even think that a beautiful, independent woman such as yourself would want anything to do with someone like me. I am a protector, that's my job; it's what I love to do. You do not need protection, and I feel as though I have crossed a line with your monk friend." His words baffled her a little; she didn't quite understand where he was going with the whole "protector" speech, but he was right about crossing a line with Houshi-sama.

"Things…are a little confusing with Houshi-sama, he means well, and we are good friends, I just don't know what we are. I care for him, and I know he cares for me. Maybe it would be better if you perhaps went on your way? The village I believe you're looking for is three miles west of here." Sango lost her certainty; she had never been in a position such as this. Yes she had affections in competition with Miroku's before, but none had ever succeeded in winning her affections in return. Hiro smiled slightly realizing that his addition was crowding the two companions and took the taijiya's hand into both of his own. He placed a delicate kiss below her wrist and looked up with a striking gaze.

"Please forgive me. I never meant any harm, I have just never met a woman quite like you. You're like a breath of fresh air, and more beautiful than the blooming of the cherry trees. I am honored to have met you, but am most unfortunate that heart belongs to someone else. I will go and not cause anymore trouble for you." And with that the warrior bowed his leave, took the reins of his steed, mounted the beautiful horse and sauntered away. He held a posture of pride, but Sango could feel the energy of defeat as he retreated into the night.

By the time Hiro's shadow was out of sight, Sango suddenly realized she was all alone, Miroku was still out about a mile from camp scouting the area, and the small fire she and the warrior had built had dwindled down to dim glowing coals. A chill crept upon her and she wondered why she asked Hiro to leave before Miroku had returned. Although she used to do this all the time after her village had been decimated, and before she met InuYasha and his gang, the demon exterminator had become so used to having a group of people or at least someone by her side that this loneliness made her feel so vulnerable. Kirara wasn't even there to comfort her. _Miroku will be back soon._ He had to, all his other investigations hadn't taken long. But time wore on and the night grew colder, and Sango sat by the coals in the dark.


End file.
